The Ravens quarterback is still thinking about the loss in the AFC final game.
Super Bowl LVIII kickoff is just hours away, with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers vying for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the NFL championship at the end of the 2023 season. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will be crowded, with millions upon millions of spectators tuning in to watch the game on TV.
Despite the spectacular audience estimates projected from Super Bowl LVIII, one great NFL quarterback has publicly stated that he will not be watching the game. Lamar Jackson believes the wound from losing to Kansas City two weeks ago has yet to heal — and as such, the newly minted MVP is eager to do something else with his time on Sunday night.
Jackson: Loss to Chiefs is too raw; I won’t watch the Super Bowl.
Jackson was asked on Sunday by NFL Network if he will be watching Super Bowl LVIII and the showdown between Brock Purdy and Patrick Mahomes. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback answered passionately, claiming that he did not want to watch the game because the AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs was still “too raw.”
This season, the Ravens were the top seed in the AFC, and Jackson made it obvious that they expected to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years. But Mahomes and the Chiefs derailed their plans. Kansas City’s powerful defense forced three turnovers at M&T.
Bank Stadium, including a crucial interception from Jackson in the fourth quarter, in a 17-10 victory that ended Baltimore’s season.
Lamar Jackson on winning MVP
“To be here for the award, it’s an honor. But I rather would have been in the Super Bowl than accepting the award…Hopefully if it comes up again and I’m nominated again, hopefully we’ll be in the Super Bowl and playing” pic.twitter.com/5wJdGUMldC
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) February 11, 2024
And it is that defeat that Jackson remembers on Super Bowl Sunday, and for some time afterward.
Jackson’s drive for a championship
On Thursday, Jackson was awarded NFL MVP for the second time in his career. While the 27-year-old is on track to finish his career as the greatest dual-threat quarterback in history, his resume still lacks a Super Bowl appearance.
“It’s an honor (to win MVP), but I’d rather have played in the Super Bowl than accept the award,” Jackson said Thursday from Las Vegas.
Perhaps the football gods will smile upon Jackson and the Ravens in the 2024 NFL season, but for the time being, even this superstar quarterback is spending Super Bowl Sunday at home, just like many of us.
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